Traveling through the alleys and crossroads in my mind, I'm trying to learn my soul, find answers.
While I stand here , I am unleashed of all the tensions
inside and outside me.
Life is just the way it is...Happy, Beautiful yet mysterious.
This is Me: My Space , My cup of Soul!

Friday, January 20, 2012

Simple n' Tangy n' Sweet - Cranberry Sauce (Indian way)

OK! So I was so puzzled about how to start this post . I was so out of words all of a sudden that I begged hubby dear to shower some ideas.
This is what he said "New year,new recipe, berries, cranberries :))". Thanks Hun'.

I finally made up my mind to put up some recipe. I was very apprehensive for God knows what reason, to put up recipes but somehow I just thought of trying it out and somehow I remembered this experiment of mine with cranberries last year and somehow I managed to remember the recipe I attempted and somehow I again tried it out today and just felt happy about it and somehow managed to take pictures in between and somehow essayed this sentence having seven somehow's.

Did you count it?

Or did you go back and read it again?

No? Don't do it! It's ok!

Yes? Good for you.

SO about this cranberry sauce - Cranberries are tangy / sour to taste. So a little help from spices and a bit of sweetness from sugar gives it a boost of flavor. This is a versatile sauce b'coz you can use it in many different ways just like you would use your ketchup or the tamarind chutney.

Oh you could also dip a spoon in it and lick it like you would with the tamarind chutney. Yes, I do that! Coz I love it.

Wash the cranberries , put it in a pan, fill it with enough water to cover it and boil it for almost 10 mins or so, until it softens.

Next, Add a tablespoon of red chilli powder. Mine was a very strong one. 1 tablespoon was enough to give it the amount of spice that I needed, so if yours is a milder one , you might want to add 1 tablespoon , then add more as per your taste.

Now for the sweetness you could use both sugar or jaggery. I added a tablespoon of sugar, then I suddenly remembered that I had this pack of jaggery lying there for many months unopened. So then added about 6 to 7 medium pieces of jaggery to get the required amount of sweetness. So it is upto you how much you need to add. If you are going to use only sugar you would want to start with about 3/4 or 1 cup of sugar and start from there. Add more if you like it.

Then finally add salt to taste.

Keep boiling it over medium heat until everything is cooked thoroughly , probably around 10 mins or so. Keep stirring it, and be careful , it's going to spurt all over your counter. so keep stirring it or partially cover it with a lid.

Once it's cooked enough, cool it and put it in a blender and mix it until smooth if you want a smooth sauce or keep it as it is if you like it more chunky.

Once it is cooled down, transfer it into a dry bottle and it could be freezed for long use.

I had enough sauce to fill a jam bottle and a little more. So I put a little of it in the refrigerator and the rest went into my freezer section for future use.
This is very much like the tamarind chutney recipe itself except there is cranberries in it.
This sauce could be used as a dipping sauce for samosas, pakoras, etc, also to make bhel, sandwiches and much more.
Someday I'l show you all the ways I used it, i'l post it in my blog with food pictures.

So hope you enjoyed this recipe with all the goodness that the cranberry provides. If you try it, do let me know.

I will surely be posting more recipes in future, only those which I come up with out of no where and ends up looking and tasting good on my plate.